


Soulmates

by stellecraft



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Medical Procedures, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 06:21:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11434977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellecraft/pseuds/stellecraft
Summary: The bonds between Steve, Tony, and Bucky break after the events of Civil War. How do they rebuild?





	Soulmates

       It hurt. Steve pressed his hand over the soulmate mark over his heart. He watched as Bucky’s eyes closed in the cryo tube. Bucky hadn’t been able to handle the pain, it had sent him into a tail spin, and had asked to be put into cryo until the pain diminished. Steve pressed his hand to the mark harder, willing it to stop throbbing. This was worse than when Bucky had supposedly died. Steve had been in the ice until well after the pain had numbed.

       Steve stalked back to his room still rubbing the mark. He stripped back to his room and stripped off his shirt. The arc reactor that used to keep Tony’s heart from being damaged stood out in angry red lines where it was etched on his skin. Bucky’s star was a dull red, a consequence of being in cryo, on Steve’s shoulder. Steve traced the star and circle, the same pattern that was his shield, the same shield he had shoved into Tony’s chest, on his hip.

       God Tony. He must be in excruciating pain from two broken bonds. Steve bet that Bucky going into cryo would help numb the pain of Bucky’s mark at least. Bucky and Tony had never really had time to get to know each other so maybe it wasn’t as painful for him.

 

* * *

 

 

       Tony sobbed into Natasha’s shoulder. It burned. His hip and shoulder burned. His shoulder had numbed slightly but his hip felt like someone was taking a branding iron to it. Natasha ran a hand down his back.

       “I know it hurts. I’ve been through it. Just breathe. It will feel better in a few days.” Natasha managed to get Tony to release her and draped the ice packs she had brought over his shoulder and hip. “I’m going to get some numbing cream alright?” Tony nodded and she got up. This ice packs would sooth the burning but the numbing cream would make the feeling of the bonds breaking bearable.

       “How is he?” Natasha turned to look at Rhodney as she entered the infirmary. He was propped up on a mountain of pillows.

       “It hurts. He’ll get through it.” Natasha grabbed the tube of cream and headed back to Tony. He had stripped off his shirt and was staring at Bucky’s mark on his shoulder.

       “What have I done?”

       “You did nothing, Tony. We were manipulated.” She gently smoothed the cream over the mark on his shoulder. Tony bared his hip and she spread the cream over it. She gently guided Tony over to his bed and made sure he actually lay down.

       “I need to….”

       “Do nothing. They made their choice Tony. I know that if you had the chance you would have protected them but they didn’t give you that chance.”

       “At the hanger you let them get away.”

       “I didn’t want them thrown into the Raft. There would have been no chance of getting them out if they were stuck there.”

       “Clint?”

       “He’s fine. I don’t know where he is but I know he’s fine.”

       “Your bond…”

       “Clint and I knew that somewhere down the line we would go in different directions. Our bond won’t break because of it.”

       “Bucky’s mark feels numb.”

       “If I was him I’d go back on ice so the pain wouldn’t drive me insane.” Natasha stroked over Tony’s arm. In the Red Room, she had been forced to kill her second soulmate, another red room trainee. She knew the pain they were going through. Finding Clint had kept her sane. Laura had been so understanding of the whole thing. She looked down to find that Tony had drifted off due to exhaustion. She tugged a blanket over him and left the room.

 

* * *

 

 

       Steve watched as Bucky was defrosted. The technicians removed the breathing apparatus from his mouth and maneuvered him onto a medical bed. They slid an oxygen cannula into his nose and left. Steve settled by the bed and took Bucky’s hand. After a few minutes, Bucky’s eyes slid open.

       “Stevie?”

       “Here.”

       “I don’t feel him anymore.” Steve brushed a tear from Bucky’s cheek.

       “I know. Clint, by way of Natasha, says the pain stopped for him about a week ago.”

       “How is he?”

       “Not eating. Not sleeping.” They both looked up to see Natasha watching them. “He’s barely holding on. The only thing keeping him alive is Pepper’s constant pestering. He’s had a feeding tube twice and the doctors are seriously debating inserting a catheter into his stomach so that they can give him nutrients on a more permanent basis.”

       “Malen'kiy pauk…”

       “Don’t little spider me, Zima.” Bucky sighed at the red room name for him. “He’s falling apart without you and Steve.”

       “If we go back we will be arrested.” Natasha sighed.

       “I know Steve. There’s no guarantee he wouldn’t turn you in as soon as you showed up.” Natasha sagged slightly. “He needs you though.”

       “We could try.” Bucky sat up slowly. “I’ve gotten into the tower before, without security noticing. When Hydra wasn’t monitoring me and I wasn’t frozen I used to slip in to watch him. I didn’t know why I was drawn to him then.”

       “Vision told me.” Natasha’s voice was quiet. “He didn’t set off the alarms as Jarvis because he didn’t think you were a threat. Tony slept better when you were in the building.”

       “Do you think he would help?”

       “Maybe.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Vision glanced at the figure in the corner. The man stepped forward and Vision recognized Bucky Barnes.

       “I assume you are not here to hurt him.”

       “Like I would. You didn’t set the alarms off on me all those years.”

       “You meant no harm to Mr. Stark. I did not see the reason behind waking him with an alarm when he slept better with you in the building.” Vision focused on the hallway. “Captain Rogers.”

       “Vision.” Steve nodded at him.

       “I will attempt to keep Friday from alerting Mr. Stark.” Vision morphed through a wall and Steve and Bucky made their way to the workshop. Tony was passed out at his workbench. Bucky did a complicated thing with the hand scan pad for the door and the door popped open. They slipped in quietly and Steve lifted Tony. The man weighed far less than what he should have. Bucky used his flesh hand to gently lift Tony’s shirt. They both winced when they saw the PEG port. Steve carried Tony up to the penthouse and laid him on the bed. Bucky was happy to see the machine at Tony’s bedside and hooked him up to it. The machine whirred slightly and began to pump the feeding formula through the feeding port.

       “The machine is saying he hasn’t been hooked up at all for the last twelve hours.” Bucky ran his fingers through Tony’s hair.

       “Well, he is now.” Steve pulled the blankets over Tony and the two of them left.

 

* * *

 

 

       Tony woke up. He was in his bed and there was light peeking through the window. He frowned. The last thing he remembered was being in the workshop. He pressed the blankets aside and looked down. Whoever had carried him up had hooked him up to his feeding pump. He frowned more as he carefully unhooked himself and capped the port. His fingers pressed the buttons on the machine and he realized he had been hooked up through multiple feeding sessions. That meant he must have been asleep most of the night.

       Tony felt better. He got up and showered. His fingers trailed over Steve’s mark on his hip. It had faded into a dull color after a month but it was still there on his pale skin. Bucky’s had pretty much gone a gray red but it had regained a bit of color while staying dull. Bucky must be off ice then.

       Tony wondered out into the team common room on the floor below. Natasha was sitting there with a book. Rhodney was puttering around the room with his exoskeleton. Vision was supervising. Everyone looked at him.

       “You’re out of your workshop.” Natasha put down her book and looked him over. “You’ve got some color.”

       “Whichever of you broke into my workshop and carried me upstairs needs to show me how you did so I can keep you from doing it again.”

_“Boss none of them entered the workshop last night. I have no clue how you got upstairs.”_ Tony froze.

       “Friday where is the security blind spot.”

_“There is no blind spot boss.”_

       “I believe that was my fault Mr. Stark. I may have accidently taken out part the security system last night but I did patrol the area until the system righted itself.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Tony woke up on the cot he kept in his workshop. He was tucked in and his feeding pump was next to him, the tube snaking its way to his port. He unhooked the tube and capped his port. It happened sometimes that he found himself in the workshop instead of his bedroom. It was like his mysterious guardian sometimes couldn’t bring him upstairs. Tony speculated on that as he pulled up the feeds to the hidden cameras he had installed.

       The camera feeds showed nothing. Some had been knocked out, others were pointed in a different direction than he had left them. He scrolled through the available feeds and spotted something. There was a dark figure on one of the cameras before it went dead.

       “Friday run recognition on that figure please.”

_“I cannot do that boss. Vision has told me that it would not be to your benefit. I agree.”_

       “I created you I can sell you to MIT.” Tony sighed and buried his head in his hands. He just wanted to know.

 

* * *

 

 

       Steve and Bucky slipped into the tower. The elevator popped open as they approached it. As it slowly started moving the two of them relaxed. Vision had managed to convince Friday that they weren’t a threat and it made getting into the building easier. The two of them made their way to Tony’s workshop and slipped inside as Friday opened the door. Steve gently lifted Tony from his uncomfortable sleeping position bent over the work bench.

       Tony’s hand shot out and gripped Steve’s arm, his eyes springing open. Steve instantly gripped him tightly to keep him from moving while Bucky strode over and covered Tony’s mouth with his hand.

       “Friday security override. Lab lockdown.”

_“Of course Captain Rogers. All suits are locked down. Lab on opaque and noise leak mode. All communication out and in is blocked unless an emergency.”_ Tony seemed to glare at the ceiling. Steve let Tony go and Bucky removed his hand.

       “Traitor.”

       “Me or Friday?” Bucky moved around so that Tony could see him as Steve spoke. “Tony you need sleep.”

       “It was you. You and Bucky were sneaking in and carrying me up to my bed.”

       “Sometimes it’s just me.” Bucky settled on the couch. “I’d take you all the way upstairs but I can’t exactly heft you like Steve can. One arm and all.”

       “At least let me hook you up to the feeding pump.” Steve was trying to corral Tony towards the cot in the corner but Tony was refusing to move. Bucky got up with a sigh and tugged Steve away.

       “Steve go talk to Natasha.” Steve glared at him and Bucky pointed towards the door. “Out Steve.” Steve could tell Bucky was about to snap and left without another word. Bucky settled on the couch again. “You’ve got questions. You're angry. It's justifiable.”

       “You’ve been sneaking into the tower.”

       “Natasha told us you hadn’t been eating.” Bucky rubbed the metal stub of his arm with a huff. He still got phantom pains even though the neural pathways had been turned off. “The bonds may be broken but you’re still our soulmate.”

       “You left.”

       “Tony if you had been in Steve’s shoes, if you had been the one to have your closest friend and soulmate hunted, you would have done anything to keep me safe. Steve was an ass, I can guarantee that, but I wasn’t in the right state of mind to convince him otherwise. Hydra took everything that was me and scrambled it so I could barely pull myself together to function. Stevie is very particular about protecting those he cares about. He left because he thought it would be safer for both of us.”

       “You allowed the bond to break.”

       “I was still Hydra’s. I needed to break that conditioning.” Bucky ran a hand through his hair, tugging it away from his face. “I used to sneak in here years ago. Hydra didn’t know. I was generally given some time that they weren’t monitoring me between missions and ice. Time they thought I was using to get a quick fuck in. Whenever I was in New York I’d come here.” Bucky watched as Tony wrapped his arms around himself.

       “Why?”

       “Tony I was drawn to here. I felt calmer. You seemed to sleep better when I was in the building. I guess I was subconsciously rebelling against their conditioning.” Bucky stripped himself out of his shirt. The arc reactor on his chest was the same brilliant blue it had been before the bond had broken. “If you want us to stop we will. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself.” Tony seemed to collapse in on himself and Bucky caught him with his good arm as the man fell. He pulled Tony snuggly against him and felt the other man trace the arc reactor mark on his chest.

       Tony’s eyes were half closed and Bucky guided him over to the cot. With practiced ease, he hooked Tony’s port up to the feeding machine and pulled the blankets of the cot over Tony. Tony was gripping his hand tightly and Bucky settled on the floor near the cot. He didn’t have the heart to dislodge Tony.

 

* * *

 

 

       Tony watched as the dark haired man leaned in a corner during his press conference. When he stumbled over a word he felt a wave of reassurance rush through him. As he finished and walked out Bucky fell in at his shoulder. His hand settled at the small of Tony’s back. Tony has made him a new arm that matched his flesh one and had given him one of the masks Natasha had once worn.

       Bucky had taken up the position of Tony Stark’s bodyguard and driver with ease. When they reached the car he opened the door so Tony could slide in. He closed the door and slid into the driver’s seat. With practiced ease, he started driving and handed Tony a water from the cooler up front. Tony took it from him and cracked it open.

       “How is Steve doing?” Tony had been asking more and more questions about their third recently. Bucky was taking it to mean that Tony was at least thinking about Steve. The other man had returned to Wakanda after Tony had sent him packing.

       “He’s moping. He misses us. He understands though.” Bucky turned into the garage below Stark Towers and pulled into the private section that Tony used. Once parked he turned off the mask and turned to face Tony. Tony was absently rubbing at the hip where Steve’s mark was. Bucky knew he had been keeping himself closed off from Steve.

       “Is it bad that I kinda miss him?”

       “Not at all Doll. He’s your soulmate. He fucked up, we both did, but he’s still your soulmate.” He watched as Tony rubbed the mark some more.

       “Can he come back? I think I’ll feel better if he’s at least in the Tower.”

       “Of course Love. I’ll set it up.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Steve looked around as he followed Bucky into the floor he was assigned. He had been happy that he was allowed back in New York. He’d sleep better and he knew his presence in the building, even if he didn’t see Tony, would help the other man. Bucky dropped one of the bags Steve had brought on the bed and turned to face him.

       “You know the rules.”

       “No visiting Tony without his permission. I have free reign of the tower when he’s gone but when he’s here I’m pretty much confined to my floor.” Bucky held out his arms and Steve slipped into them. He felt waves of calm wash over him as Bucky’s presence soothed the bond.

       “I’m sorry.”

       “No. It’s better that Tony feels comfortable. It’s a relief just being in the same city let alone the same building as you two.” Steve pulled away and pressed a light kiss to Bucky’s mouth. He felt Bucky smile as he pulled away. “Go on. I’m sure he’s waiting on you.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Tony tossed and turned. Bucky was out with Natasha working to bring down a Hydra camp. Tony was alone in the bed he usually shared. He had tried everything to get to sleep, even stripping and wearing one of Bucky’s overlarge t-shirts. The bed, the entire room, just felt empty.

       With a groan, Tony pushed himself upright. He pulled on a pair of boxers, grabbed the pillow Bucky normally used, and made his way to the elevator. He directed Friday to bring the elevator down to Steve’s floor. When the elevator stopped and the doors dinged open he paused. He didn’t know how Steve would receive him. He hadn’t talked to the man since he had seen him all those months ago in his workshop. He heard Steve moving towards him and gripped the pillow tighter.

       “Tony?” Steve stopped in the doorway that led to his common room. “Why are you here?”

       “I can’t sleep. Bucky’s gone.” Steve nodded and stepped to the side.

       “My bed is open. I can sleep on the couch.” Steve watched as Tony chewed on his lip. “I can sleep on Natasha’s floor if that would make you more comfortable.”

       “No, I want….” Steve held out a hand and Tony stepped up. Steve could guess what Tony wanted. It was generally soothing to be in physical contact with a soulmate. He led Tony to his bedroom and helped Tony to get comfortable. When Tony nodded, Steve settled into bed with him.

       “Is this ok?” Tony let out a sleepy noise and Steve smiled. “You can stay here until Bucky is back.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Bucky was at his wit's end. He could feel that Tony was content but couldn’t find him. He had checked everywhere in the tower that he could think of. Friday told him that her boss was sleeping and that he shouldn’t be disturbed but didn’t tell him anything else. As a last ditch effort, he was heading down to Steve’s floor.

       When the door to the elevator popped open he began searching room by room for Steve. When he entered the bedroom Steve looked up at him and pressed a finger to his lips. Tony was curled up next to Steve, asleep. Bucky quietly moved over to the bed and settled next to Tony.

       “He wasn’t sleeping well and came down to find me about three nights ago. He left in the morning and kept coming back to sleep.” Steve put down his pencil and his sketch book. Bucky could see a detailed portrait of Tony nearly finished.

       “I’m just happy he’s alright. I freaked out a bit when I couldn’t find him.” Bucky ran his fingers through Tony’s hair. The man’s eyes blinked open slightly and he smiled when he saw Bucky. “You scared me Doll.”

       “Sorry.”

       “Don’t be sorry. I’m happy you came someplace you felt comfortable. Now go back to sleep. We can head back upstairs when you’ve slept some more.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Steve woke to Tony nuzzling into him. He blinked. Bucky was in the tower that night. He had gotten back from a week long mission the night before.

       “Friday?”

_“I believe that boss is acting on autopilot.”_

       “Should I take him up to Bucky?”

       “No need.” Steve looked up to see Bucky standing in the doorway. “Frankly I’m just happy he seems to be tolerating you.”

       “Will you both shut up.” Steve looked at Tony to find him glaring at him. The other man wiggled slightly and yanked down his boxers to reveal the bright Captain America shield on his hip. “That answer your question? Now can I sleep?” Bucky slid into the bed behind Tony with a smile.

       “Of course Doll. We would never deny you sleep.” Both Steve and Bucky stayed quiet until Tony was fast asleep.

       “Did you know?”

       “I’ve been gone. We hadn’t done anything for about a month before that. He seemed conflicted about something and I wasn’t going to press.” Bucky pulled Tony against him fully and gently tugged the man’s boxers down so that he could see his hip. The mark was bright as if it had never faded. Bucky smiled. “I’ll ask him tomorrow if he wants you to move upstairs with us.”

 

* * *

 

 

       Tony moaned. Steve was balls deep in him as Bucky fed him his cock. God the feeling of the two of them was amazing. Tony focused on Bucky’s dick in his mouth, tracing his tongue over the vein and sucking in just the way Bucky liked. Bucky swore.

       “God Tony your mouth.” Tony moaned around the dick in his mouth as Steve hit his prostate. Steve kept up the punishing pace that Tony liked while Bucky yanked on Tony’s hair, forcing him all the way down on his cock. Bucky held him there as he came then pulled out. Tony swallowed, God being used made him all hot and bothered, and pulled Bucky down for a kiss. He moaned into the kiss as Steve changed the angle and fisted him. He pulled away, mouth open, as he came with a cry. Steve came in his ass and pulled out to pull Tony against him.

       “Good?”

       “Perfect.” Tony melted into Steve’s arms as Bucky cleaned him up. Bucky joined them, nuzzling into Tony’s shoulder.

       “Good.” Steve pressed a kiss to the smaller man’s head as Tony fell asleep. He reached out and traced the replica of his shield on Tony’s hip with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't bite and really like hearing from people so come by and say hi.  
> http://stellecraft.tumblr.com/  
> or  
> https://stellecraftwrites.tumblr.com/


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